Removable dust collection modules contained within vacuum cleaners are known. For example EP-A-9783865 (Application number 97300134.0-2316, Black and Decker Inc) describes a known bagless vacuum cleaner comprising a floor travelling head comprising a housing member that incorporates a removable dust collection bowl in a hole in the housing towards the front of the floor travelling head. The dust collection module includes an integral handle moulded therein on its upper surface, for use in removing the dust collection module. A floor nozzle leads through a single front inlet of the dust collection module and air and entrained dust, dirt and debris enters through this inlet into the dust collection module and exits through a back filter-covered face of the module. The large area of the dust collection module causes air velocity in the receiving area to be smaller than at the inlet, allowing the entrained dirt, dust and debris to fall into the dust collection module. The module therefore needs to be emptied regularly by the user, and removal is effected by lifting the module upwards out of the housing using the integrally moulded handle. Notches are provided in the side walls of the dust collection module which interact with cantilevered snap-lock latches located in the side walls of the hole of the housing in which the dust collection module sits. The latches retain the dust collection module in the hole in the housing but can deflect outward when sufficient upward force is exerted on the handle at the top of the dust collection unit. They therefore allow the dust collection module to be removed for emptying, but prevent the dust collection module slipping out of the housing during normal use or storage.
We have found that for some applications It may be desirable to have a latch mechanism that can provide more positive locking of the dust collection module in a vacuum cleaner housing than Is provided by the notches and snap-lock latches of EP-A-9753865 (Application number 97300134.0-2316. Black and Decker Inc). We have also found that while this more positive locking mechanism may be desirable for any normal vacuum operation since it ensures that the dust collection module Is released only for emptying, it is especially advantageous to provide the more positive locking arrangement on the dust collection module at times when another part is being moved relative to the dust collection module, since this relative movement could otherwise cause accidental removal of the dust collection module.